Saturday, January 26, 2013

Detailed Deweying, Wordless Caldecotts, and more...

With our flannels, we learned "Little Jack Horner" and "Jack and Jill." We were all pretty shocked with the idea that Little Jack Horner would actually stick his thumb into his food. Gross! And our reaction to "Jack and Jill"?...ouchie!

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - How do rebus rhymes help us learn new words?

We learned the poem "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and some new words like dainty and parlor, and we talked about sarcasm (was it really a dainty dish? no!). The emphasis in the unit is on repetition and the concept of nonsense, but of course nursery rhymes have quite deep and hidden meanings.

Grade 1: Guiding Question - Who is Elmer?

Elmer loves hiding in our Christmas cactus!

Continuing with our "classic character" theme, we read the first Elmer story (Elmer, by David McGee) and another favorite, Elmer Takes Off. Both are popular because Elmer loves a good joke. Grade 2: Guiding Question - What's the difference between a concept book and a story? How do illustrators use layout to create certain effects?

Wordless Caldecotts: Stories

Wordless Caldecotts: Concepts

We used wordless Caldecotts to talk about the difference between a story (has a character and clear beginning, middle, end) and a concept book (about an idea with no required order). We also looked at layout choices an illustrator makes. We learned about double-page spreads, full-bleed vs. bordered pictures, and we talked about the effect of each. We decided that full-bleed pictures seem to spill off the page and give an effect of the image continuing. Bordered pictures narrow our focus. Double-page spreads are a favorite: we love that expansive feeling!Grade 3: Guiding Question - How do we sort Dewey numbers that match?

For Dewey Part #2, we examined the problem of matching numbers and learned to use the author's last name for a final sort. Looking at one number at a time, we put numbers in order from small to big, and if numbers match, only then do we use ABC order. After some group practice, we rotated between two stations: Order in the Library computer game and laminated "book spines" with the correct answers on the back.Grade 3 continued to work with their space research this week. Our empty shelf made an impromptu desk in front of the encyclopedia section. Stay tuned for the new IKEA couches that will go here instead!Grades 4 and 5 began their Golden Dragon reading. Students have been busy telling me about the titles they've already finished during first recess.